Dragon Ball G
by Caity1
Summary: The Briefs and Sons move to Satan City, and Trunks and Gohan become friends with a girl named Ryoko.. But there's more to her than meets the eye, and Goku knows something that he won't tell. R
1. one

A/N_Yep, I re-wrote The Guardian... I'm hoping that this one will be better than the last one, and I have some new ideas for this. I don't own any of the characters from DBZ, yatta yatta yatta, and I made up Ryoko, Mai, and Kotori... Please review, I think this story will come out to be really good if I get off my lazy ass and write more ^_^  
  
_Saiyans in School  
  
To Trunks Brief, Ryoko Augiri was the prettiest, nicest girl in the school. Ever since he had first come to the school, she had been extra nice to him, trying her best to make him feel welcome and comfortable. Trunks and Gohan were visiting Satan City High for the last two months of the year. They were going to go the full year for their junior year, and they only came during the sophmore year to get used to the school.  
  
A couple of months after Trunks had defeated the androids in his time, his mother persuaded him to go back to the past and get a good education since the schools in his time were demolished. He was in the same grade as Gohan and Videl, since he had the appearance of a seventeen year old. His mother came to the conclusion that this was because of all of his time traveling. He had moved in with present Bulma, who had moved to a suburban town to get away from the city life, right next to Ryoko's house. The Son's also moved to the same street because Chichi hated having to travel so far to get to the towns. They still owned the house in the mountains, but they spent their time in their new house.  
  
Now that he had been in the school for about two weeks, Ryoko had started to pay less attention to him, but still talked to him and smiled at him whenever she saw him.  
  
History class was boring as usual, but Trunks was occupied by staring at Ryoko. She was half asleep, but he still couldn't help but smiling to himself at her beauty. She had long, thick, black hair pulled back into a pony tail with two shorter peices left down on each side of her head and large, dark brown eyes which were staring at nothing as she day dreamed. When they bell rang, she jumped up, with renewed energy as she sped for the door.  
  
"I dunno how you pull it off." Gohan said, standing up.  
  
"Pull what off?" Trunks asked.  
  
"To get good grades, I was constantly working! It's easier, now, but all you do all day is stare at that Ryoko!" Trunks shrugged, laughing lightly as the two saiyans walked down the hall.  
  
"Well, my mother is a genius." He said, simply. Gohan sighed.  
  
"That really isn't fair..." Trunks went to his locker and put his books in, and when he closed the door, Gohan began telling him that he should ask Ryoko on a date again. Trunks sighed, Gohan would bug him about this every day, and even though Trunks wanted to ask Ryoko on a date or something, he could never get the courage to. "Even if I could ask her, I don't think she'd want to go."  
  
"Why not?" Gohan asked with a smirk. "I think she likes you!" Trunks shook his head.  
  
"Nah. She likes Kotori." Both of the demi-sayians heads turned to watch Ryoko walk by with her two best friends, Mai and Kotori. Ryoko turned her head to Trunks and smiled, then her eyes widened and she yelled something at Kotori. It was so obvious that she liked him, everyone knew it. Kotori had brown hair and icy blue eyes, and was quite a few inches taller than Ryoko. He was a very funny person, but wasn't too popular in Satan City High. He was a nice guy, and often got picked on by the more popular kids. Ryoko was ussually all over him, and Kotori hated it. Even though he and Ryoko were very good friends, they would often get into fights and Kotori was often pretty mean to her. Many people didn't understand why Ryoko cared for him (including Trunks), but she always claimed that he was a very different person when they were alone. Mai had pink hair that was ussually in a bun, and like Ryoko, two shorter pieces of hair were left down on both sides of her head, but the peices were much shorter than Ryoko's. She had blue eyes, and had a very immature personality. She complained a lot, and was boy crazy. Her current crush was Gohan, it was very obvious even though she wouldn't admit it.  
  
"So? She could grow to like you, you never know." Gohan said. Trunks shook his head and headed toward the doors with Gohan.  
  
"Hey Trunks!" Trunks' heart skipped a beat and his breath was caught in his chest as Ryoko ran over to him when they got outside. He smiled, and before he got the breath to greet her, she continued talking. "I'm really not understanding all this stuff in math... Do you think you could help me with it?" Trunks glanced at Gohan, who smiled and winked quickly, and Trunks sighed, smiling a little.  
  
"Sure. Want to go over to your house?" He asked, proud of himself for getting all the words out without stuttering. The smile faded off of Ryoko's face. She glanced at the ground, then back up at Trunks and smiled again as they climbed onto their bus.  
  
"My house wouldn't work, my parents won't be home." Trunks sat in his usual seat with Gohan, and Ryoko sat behind them with a grumbling Kotori.  
  
"Oh, okay... How about my house?" As soon as Trunks said this he regretted it, who knows what his family would say or do in front of Ryoko?  
  
"That'd be cool. Want me to come over right when we get off the bus?" Trunks nodded and said sure.  
  
_Studying Math at the Brief Household  
  
The whole bus ride, he was extremely nervous. He should have suggested the library or something. What if his father said something about who they really are? Trunks and Gohan were trying to keep their saiyan heritage a secret, they wanted to be treated as normal earthlings. Hopefully Vegeta would remember this, and wouldn't say anything to Ryoko. And his mother, what if she said something embarassing? Chibi Trunks... what if he also said something embarassing? There were so many horrible things that could happen...  
  
Gohan said goodbye to Trunks and Ryoko as they climbed off their bus, and Trunks and Ryoko went into Trunks' house. It took him a few moments to open the door, but he look in a large breath and pulled it open. His mother was sitting at the kitchen table with Chichi, they had coffee in front of them and were laughing, and their heads turned to watch Trunks and his friend walk in. They smiled, Bulma a little bit more larger than Chichi as she spoke.  
  
"Ohh, hello! Who's this, Trunks? Your gilfriend?" This had been what Trunks had expected from his mother, and he blushed.  
  
"No! This is my friend, Ryoko, my friend." He coughed a little, then continued, "I'm going to help her with her math."  
  
"Ohh, your friend, huh?" Bulma stood and held out her hand to Ryoko. "Hello, Ryoko, I'm Bulma, Trunks' mother." Ryoko shook her hand, looking surprised.  
  
"You're his mother? You look more like his sister!" She cried, eyes wide. Bulma pulled her hand out of Ryokos and put it over her mouth, giggling.  
  
"I like you, Ryoko! I approve of her, Trunks!" Trunks blushed even more.  
  
"Uhh... come on, Ryoko, let's go get working on that math... See ya, mom." He said, going up the stairs to his room.  
  
"She's nice." Ryoko said, closing Trunks' door behind her and setting her bag on the floor. "She really does look young, though. She seems more like your older sister than your mom." Trunks shrugged, and quickly changed the subject to math.  
  
After an hour or two, Ryoko closed her math book with a large smile.  
  
"Ah! I get it!" She cried. "Thank you so much!" Trunks laughed, scratching his head. He wasn't in the same math class as Ryoko, and he suspected that she slept through each and every class.  
  
"Any time." He said. She started putting books into her backpack, when Trunks' door bursted open and they looked up.  
  
There stood Chibi Trunks and Goten with wides eyes and large smiles. "Ooh!" They both cried at the same time.  
  
"Who's your girlfriend, Trunks?!" Chibi Trunks cried, and Goten broke into giggles. Ryoko looked at the two Trunks', seemingly confused.  
  
"Did your mom clone you or something?" She asked. Mirai Trunks' eyes widened and a sweat drop formed on the back of his head.  
  
"He' my... uh... little brother!" Trunks cried. Chibi Trunks and Goten stood quietly for a little while, then Trunks whispered something in Goten's ear and they walked off giggling and whispering.  
  
"You look so much alike... that's weird." Ryoko said, and she sounded like she beleived him but was a little unsure. Trunks couldn't think of an excuse to explain their similarities, but he couldn't come up with any.  
  
"Uh... Yeah." He said, biting his lip.  
  
"What's his name? And that other kid looked like Gohan, is that his brother?"  
  
"H-His name? Um... His name is Chibi. And yes, that was Goten, Gohan's brother."  
  
"Chibi? That's a... cute name." She said. For a few minutes there was an awkward silence, then Bulma poked her head in the room and the two teens turned around. She asked Ryoko to stay for dinner, even though Trunks was blushing madly, waving his hands, mouthing 'NO!", and shaking his head. They already had one difficulty with his family that he could not explain truthfully, and he knew his father would say something to her that would not be easy to come up with an excuse for. "That'd be great, thanks!" Ryoko said with a large smile.  
  
"Okay, great! It'll be done in about fourty five minutes, I'll call you." Bulma left, and Ryoko suggested that she and Trunks did the rest of their homework while they were waiting. Trunks couldn't pay too much attention to the homework, he was worried about what was going to happen at the dinner.  
  
When Bulma called them down, they put away their books and then headed down. A robot was placing food on the table where Bulma and Vegeta were already seated. Trunks and Ryoko sat, and Ryoko looked around.  
  
"Where's Chibi?" She asked.  
  
"Chibi?" Bulma asked. Ryoko opened her mouth to explain, but Trunks cut her off.  
  
"You know, Chibi!" He cried nervously, raising and lowerin his eyebrows to give his mother the hint. He gave a glance to Vegeta, who just smirked and started eating his food. "My little brother?" Bulma blinked, then laughed.  
  
"Oh! Right! Chibi!" She shook her head, then turned to a blank Ryoko. He's out somewhere with Goten."  
  
"Oh..." Ryoko said.  
  
"So." Vegeta said after finishing his dinner rather quickly. "I hear you are my sons mate?" Trunks coughed, almost choking on his food, his face turning red. Ryoko blinked a few times, and after Trunks swallowed the food in his mouth, he jumped up.  
  
"She is not my mate, father!" He yelled.  
  
"Well then you obviously must have some sort of crush on her, or else you wouldn't have gotten so worked up." Vegeta smirked and leaned back into his chair. Bulma looked from Ryoko to Trunks to Vegeta, and sighed. She liked teasing her son, but she didn't like it when Vegeta did it.  
  
"Cut it out, Veggie." Bulma said, trying to contain a smile as Vegetas face turned slightly red and he leaned closer to the table.  
  
"I told you not to call me that, woman!" He cried.  
  
"Oh, but it's so cute!" Bulma cried, letting her large smile out. Vegeta moaned, not able to think of a come back.  
  
"I... I'm going to the gravity room!" He cried, jumping up and turning to the still standing Trunks. "Come with me, boy."  
  
"Gravity room?" Ryoko asked. Trunks blinked, looking to his mother for help.  
  
"It's a game room." Bulma said with another smile. Vegeta rolled his eyes.  
  
"You are so pathetic. Actually, I'd like to train alone." And with that, he left.  
  
_Roses Are Red  
  
"Hey, Trunks, do you want to go to the mall with me and a few of my friends tonight?" Ryoko asked a few weeks later. Over those few weeks, Ryoko was reguarly getting help in math from Trunks. She and Trunks' mother went to shopping together a few times, and were becoming good friends. She began to call Vegeta 'Carrot', much to Vegeta's dislike and Bulma's amusement. Her and Trunks grew closer, and she began to dislike 'Chibi' because of his childish pranks that he often played on her.  
  
"Sure... that'd be cool. Do you want me to drive you all there?" He asked, putting his books in his locker and looking down at the glowing Ryoko.  
  
"Could you?" He nodded. "That'd be awesome, I could have Mai come on the bus with us, and Kotori only lives a few streets down." Trunks coughed quietly, and his stomach dropped. Kotori was coming? He didn't like being around Ryoko and Kotori at the same time, because it was obvious that Ryoko loved Kotori. "Wait, you drive? Aren't you only fifteen?" Trunks blinked a few times, trying to come up with an explanation.  
  
"Uh.. no... I'm sixteen, I... went to school early?" He said, sounding very unbelievable. Ryoko blinked a few times with no expression on her face, and then smiled again.  
  
"Oh, well whatever. We wanted to leave around five thirty, is that alright?" Trunks nodded and they started walking down the stairs to their bus. "Oh, look!" She swung her backack in front of her, opened it, and pulled out a piece of paper and shoved it into Trunks' face. "Look, look, look!" She cried. Trunks laughed and took it from her, and grinned. She had gotten a B+ on her math test. Mai ran up to them, stuffing books into her bagged, complaining about how their bus came too soon and she almost missed it.  
  
"Good job!" He said, handing it back to her. She grinned and nodded, and they got on the bus. Ryoko sat with Kotori as usual, and Trunks sat across from them, and Mai sat across from Gohan who was in front of Ryoko and Kotori.  
  
"Ryoko..." Kotori started. Trunks sighed. Every day, Kotori would tell Ryoko something that would upset her. She would yell, he would give excuses, then somehow Kotori would end up doing whatever Ryoko had wanted him to do in the first place. "I can't go with you and Mai to the mall tonight." Ryoko blinked a few times, shook her head, and sighed with a smile.  
  
"Alright, whatever."  
  
"What?" Kotori asked, shock written all over his face. Ryoko shrugged.  
  
"I'm tired of fighting with you, Kotori. If you don't want to spend time with your friends, then fine. We don't need you to come, anyway, we've got another guy, Trunks." Kotori looked at Trunks, anger clearly written on his face.  
  
"No, no, no, no, no!" He cried. "I'm coming with you." Ryoko grinned  
  
"Great." She said.  
  
A few hours later, Ryoko and Mai were sitting in the Brief's kitchen, talking to Bulma. At first, Mai didn't want to hang out with Mrs. Brief, but Ryoko assured her that she was really cool and that Mai would love her, and Mai did really like her.  
  
"Oh, you girls are great." Bulma said with a big smile, then reached into her purse. "Here, go buy yourselves some nice things, and we'll go shopping again next weekend, okay? I'm visiting my parents at Capsule Corp. this weekend with Veggie-chan and Tr- Chibi, so I won't see you until Sunday." Bulma handed the wide-eyed girls the money.  
  
"All of this?!" Mai cried.  
  
"Oh, Bulma, we can't take this." Ryoko said, looking up at the smiling Bulma.  
  
"Take it, Ryo-chan. I don't know how many times I have to explain this to you: The Briefs are one of the richest families in the world, I could give you all the money I want, so don't worry about it."  
  
"Thank you!" Ryoko and Mai both cried. Trunks walked into the kitchen. He had been standing outside the doorway, watching the three girls. He cleared his throat, and said that it was time to go. They piled in the car, picked up Kotori, and then went to the mall.  
  
Ryoko and Mai did most of the shopping. Trunks didn't buy anything, and Kotori bought a wrestling magazine. They got dinner, then left the mall at ten o' clock. Trunks dropped Mai and Kotori off at their houses, then drove to his and Ryokos street, said goodbye to Ryoko, then went into his house. He tried to sleep, but could not get Ryoko off of his mind. He kept thinking of how amazing she was, but Kotori held her heart. After a few hours of restlessly tossing and turning in his bed, he pulled went downstairs, put on his shoes, and stepped outside. He stared at the sky, taking in deep breaths.  
  
He closed his eyes, and just listened to the comforting silence. That silence was broken by yelling, and then a crash from inside Ryokos house. Trunks opened his eyes and watched as Ryoko front door burst open and she ran out.  
  
"And don't come back!" A man, probably her father, yelled, slamming the door behind her. Ryoko made it to the sidewalk, then fell to her knees and started sobbing into her hands. With wide eyes, Trunks ran to her and fell to his knees beside her.  
  
"Ryoko, Ryoko! What's wrong?" He cried, placing his hands onto her shoulders and looking at the part of her face that was still exposed. She took her hands away from her tear-stained face and looked at him with glassy eyes. Her eyes were a little swollen, and there was a large bruise on her cheek. "What's that? ...Ryoko, what happened? What's wrong?" She stood up, sniffling, then shook her head and managed a smile when Trunks stood and looked down at her.  
  
"Nothing, nothing's wrong, Trunks."  
  
"I'm not blind, Ryoko. Something's wrong, now tell me." Ryoko winced, then fell into his arms, sobbing again. Trunks wasn't sure what to do, so he just held her shaking body and she cried.  
  
"I... I'm so stupid!" Trunks grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away from him, looking her in the eyes with his hands still tightly grasping he shoulders.  
  
"You are not stupid, Ryoko. Now tell me what happened." Ryoko sniffled again and dook in a few deep breaths.  
  
"I called Kotori and asked him if it was possible if we would ever be together again. He told me no, he didn't think he could ever love me again... So... After I got off the phone with him, I started crying and... my father came in and started yelling at me and telling me to stop crying. Of course he was drunk, he's hardly ever not. When I didn't stop crying, he slapped me... Really hard." She touched the bruise, winced, then continued. "So... I started running out, he threw a lamp at me, he missed, I ran out the door, and... well, you know the rest." Trunks stared at her in disbelief, not sure of what to do or say. Ryoko bit her lip, and Trunks could tell that she now felt uncomfortable.  
  
"Come with me."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"...Your father said not to come back to the house, so you might as well spend at least tonight at my house." Ryoko looked at him, smiled, and nodded. He brought her into the house, then suggested that she should take a shower to fell better. Ryoko nodded, and Trunks got he some of his mothers pajamas, and she went to take a shower. During the time she was up there, Trunks sat on the couch and contemplated what she had just told him. Kotori was an asshole, and he would never had expected that Ryokos father was an alcoholic. Worst of all, he had tried to hurt her. Hitting her with that lamp could have hurt her very badly. No wonder why Ryoko never wanted him to come into her house while they studied.  
  
Ryoko came down, and they sat in silence. It was an awkward, uneasy silence, and Trunks did not like it. He was at a loss for words. What could he say?  
  
"Thank you, Trunks." Ryoko said. He turned to her, and she was smiling, tears in her eyes. He nodded, and they hugged again as she cried quietly.  
  
"Come on," he said a few minutes later, "you need sleep." He picked her up and carried her up the stairs and placed her on his bed. "You can sleep in my bed, I'll sleep on the couch."  
  
"No, don't sleep on the couch." Ryoko said with a cracked voice. "This is your room... sleep in here."  
  
"No, I want you to sleep in the bed. It's alright."  
  
"Well... To be honest... I really don't want to be alone." Trunks blinked, and then smiled.  
  
"Okay, I'll sleep on the floor."  
  
"That's not comfortable at all... Could you... Do you want to just sleep with me?" Trunks' breath was caught in his chest again, and his mind blanked. He looked at Ryoko, who was already under the covers, moving over to make room for Trunks. Trunks gulped, then nodded and layed down next to her after turning off the light.  
  
Even into the early hours of the morning, Trunks lyed awake, his stomach in a knot. Here he was, lying in his bed with Ryoko Augiri. He looked at her, and smiled to himself. She looked so peaceful while she slept, as if she had forgotten everything that had just happened. He looked at her face, and then at her lips, and all he wanted to do was kiss her, but he knew he couldn't.  
  
_Dance and a Confession  
  
The weeks went by, and the last two weeks of school were drawing near, meaning that the end-of-school semi-formal dance was coming up. Gohan had been trying to get Trunks to ask Ryoko to it, but Trunks could not get the courage, though the two had been becoming very close since the night she spent at his house, and he loved her more and more each day. They spent more time together, now, and not just studying. They would watch movies, go out to eat, and lots of times just sit and talk.  
  
But today was the day. It was the day before the dance, and Trunks was determined to ask Ryoko to the dance. In english, the teacher was busy correcting tests so he let the students to whatever they wanted. Trunks took in a deep breath while staring at Ryoko, and with a pat on the back and a 'good luck!' from Gohan, he started toward her.  
  
"Ryoko!" She turned from her friends and walked over to him with a smile and asked what he wanted. "Er... Well uh... Do you..." he sighed, "I know it's kinda late to ask but... do you want to go to the dance with me tomorrow?" Ryoko grinned.  
  
"Yeah! That'd be great!" Trunks grinned back, he was afraid that someone had already asked her.  
  
"Okay, cool. I'll pick you up at six?"  
  
"Sounds good." Trunks turned around and gave a thumbs up to Gohan, who grinned and gave Trunks a thumbs up back. He sat next to him and talked to him about the night, Gohan had asked Videl to go. Trunks looked over at Mai when he heard this, who had most likely just been told by Ryoko because she looked angry. He was about to turn back to Gohan, but he saw a nervous Kotori walk over to Ryoko, and heard him ask her to the dance. The smile dissapeared from Ryokos face, and she looked at Trunks.  
  
Anger rose up inside him and he jumped out, running out of the room and hurrying down the hall. Right after he finally got the courage to ask her, the one that she loves, Kotori, asks her. Of course she was going to say yes to Kotori, and tell Trunks that she was sorry but wanted to go with him.  
  
"Trunks!" He spun around, seeing Ryoko behind him.  
  
"Let me guess, you're going to the dance with Kotori now?!" He snapped. Ryoko winced, and spoke quietly.  
  
"No, Trunks. I'm going with you, I said no to him." Trunks blinked, and suddenly felt bad for snapping at her, suddenly feeling like he wanted her to go with Kotori and be happy.  
  
"Oh, no! Ryoko, go say tell Kotori you're going with him, I understand." Ryoko laughed.  
  
"Nah. I want to go with you, Trunks." Trunks smiled, and looked down at his feet so she wouldn't see the blush spreading across his face.  
  
The next night, Trunks tugged at his tie, trying to get it striaght and a little bit loser so that it wasn't choking him. He hated ties. Bulma came up and fixed it with a laugh. It was looser, but it still choked him a little.  
  
"Ohh Trunks, I'm so happy for you!" She cried, a grin on her face. Trunks looked at his watch, then turned to his mother.  
  
"Well, you nor Ryoko will be happy if I don't leave." Bulma hugged him, wished him luck, and then he went to get Ryoko. She was already standing in her front yard, and Trunks' guess was that she wanted to get out of her house as soon as possible. She looked gorgeous. She was wearing a red halter dress that came up above her knee and white high-heels strap sandles, and her hair was down. Trunks was always stunned by her beauty when her hair was down. She was pretty with her hair up, but it was just amazing how she looked with her hair down.  
  
At the dance, Trunks and Ryoko spent their time with Gohan and Videl. They didn't dance too much, only to the slow songs. Mai came over to Ryoko a few times and whispered things into her ear, Trunks guessed that it was about Gohan or Videl. Ryoko just brushed her off, though.  
  
Ryoko and Trunks were dancing to one of the last songs. Trunks listened to the lyrics; it was a song about being truthful and such. He sighed, and started thinking about what he had been the past few days. He was considering telling Ryoko who he really was, telling her everything. She had been honest with him, so why shouldn't he be with her?  
  
After the song was over, he told her that he wanted to talk to her. He had decided that he wanted to tell her, she would have found out sooner or later, anyway. They walked out of the school and stood outside, looking at eachother. She asked what was wrong, and then let out a cry when Trunks swept her off her feet and jumped into the air.  
  
"Ohh my God! What's going on?! Am I dreaming?!" Trunks laughed.  
  
"I'll explain in a moment, Ryoko."  
  
They landed on a deserted beach, and he set her down. She stumbled a little at first, was shaking, and breathing quickly with wide eyes. She looked up at the sky and around her, seeming as if she didn't think any of her surroundings were real. Trunks sat down on the sand, and Ryoko sat next to him. The beach was a little colder than where they had been previously, but it wasn't too cold. He saw her shivering, so he gave her his jacket, then started to explain everything. He started out with the story of young Goku, and then moved on to Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa, Frieza, himself coming from the future, the androids, and then Cell. A few times during the story Ryoko laughed or said it cuoldn't be true, but Trunks just nodded and Ryoko continued listening. Trunks ended up forming a few chi blasts to show Ryoko that he wasn't lying.  
  
"So... you're half alien?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"I never really thought of it that way, but yes, I guess I am." Ryoko blinked her eyes at him, then looked out blankly toward the sea.  
  
"...wow." She muttered, then laughed. "That's... amazing."  
  
"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about any of that..." Ryoko looked at him and winked with a smile.  
  
"Sure."  
  
They started heading back, Trunks flying slower than before by request of Ryoko so she could look around, she said she couldn't see anything when he was flying so fast before.  
  
Ryoko had been pointing things out to Trunks on the way, and she stopped when Trunks came to a sudden halt and looked around.  
  
"What's wrong?" Ryoko asked, still smiling. He said 'sh', queitly, and she looked around with him. A trickle of sweat rolled down his forehead. He definitely felt some kind of strong chi, but one that he had never felt before.  
  
He quickly realized that the energy was coming from behind him, and he spun around and shot a blast at it. Ryoko let out a shriek from being switched from both arms to just one and the sudden turn around and blast.  
  
"What the hell was that?!" She cried, gripping his arm. Trunks was breathing heavely, his hand still extended toward where the thing was. Whatever it was, it was gone, now.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
A/N_So what'd ya think? It's gonna get more interesting soon... All that was just kind of an intro. * Upcoming Chapters:  
  
_ Who's after Ryoko?  
  
_ Why is Ryoko having these strange dreams?  
  
_ Gohan and Goten have a twin?  
  
_ What is Goku hiding?  
  
_ Sparks fly between Trunks and Ryoko!  
  
Stay tuned and please review ^_^ 


	2. two

A/N_yep.. this is a short chapter, but I thought I'd update cause... I'm bored. Sorry for all the spelling mistakes, I don't have Word on this computer _ I try my best to spell correctly and such. Well, things are going to start getting... Interesting. Review, please! :  
  
_Music of the Night  
  
Ryoko ran her hand over the rough bark of one of the larger trees in the woods that she was in. She let her arm fall to her side, and she looked up at the night sky. She was alone in the woods, and it was cold. Very cold. She didn't know how she got there and she didn't have any idea where she was, so she started to walk forward. A twig snapped behind her, and she quickly spun around, eyes wide.  
  
"...Hello?" She called, her eyes searching the woods. Her eyes rose to the sky when she saw light spreading across it, the sun was shining. She smiled, feeling a bit calmer now that she could see. She looked down, and her arms and hands caught her eye.  
  
Her wrists wer slit, and she was covered in blood...  
  
With a shrill screem, Ryoko sat up in her bed and turned off her alarm clock. She was breathing heavy when she jumped up and turned on the ligths. She quickly studied her arms, and seeing that there was nothing wrong with them, she sat down on her bed, trying to calm down.  
  
'That dream felt so real...' She thought. She shook her head and ran her hand through her hair.  
  
"Just a dream, just a dream..." She said to herself, and jumped off of her bed and started getting ready for school.  
  
Through the day, nothing unusual happened. Trunks and Ryoko didn't say a thing about Friday night, but they definitely felt a lot closer. Their peers had a lot to say about the dance, though. There was always a lot of gossip after a dance.  
  
When Ryoko went home, she was surprised to find her house empty. She shrugged it off, inviting Mai over. She liked it when her parents weren't home. They spent the day talking about Friday, Mai mostly talking about how she hated Videl since she went to the dance with Gohan. When she asked where she and Trunks had went, Ryoko just said that they were hungry and decided to go out to eat.  
  
Every day for the rest of the week, Ryoko came home to an empty house. Trunks mentioned that he was staying at Capsule Corp. for the weekend, and asked if she wanted to come, too. She agreed, and they arrived there around five.  
  
They were sitting on the couch in the living room playing a video game (Ryoko was beating Trunks, and seemed very happy with herself), when Vegeta walked in. Trunks looked away from the screen and asked whyhe was there, and Ryoko dropped the controler and cried out "WOOO!" when she won the game. Then she greeted Vegeta, calling him carrot as usual, and he just grunted then answered Trunks.  
  
"I came to go in the gravity room and I'm in here to get some food. Don't worry, I'll be out of here soon... so you two can get back to whatever you were doing." Vegeta smirked as a light blush spread across Trunks' face. He opened the refridgerator door, almost tearing it off, and the smirk dissapeared. "Where'd that piece of chocolate cake go?" Then it was Ryoko's turn to smirk.  
  
"I ate it!" She cried. He glared at her.  
  
"...you ate me cake?"  
  
"Yep! And it was real good!" She said with a giggle, licking her lips. Vegeta's fist was clenched, and he looked like he was going to attack Ryoko.  
  
"You... You... AH!" He cried, storming out of the house. He knew that if he stuck up a fight with Ryoko, she would win. She'd keep coming up with retorts, and he'd eventually get yelled at by someone else. Ryoko giggled again, glad to see that Vegeta gave up so easily this time. She loved making him upset. Trunks laughed.  
  
"You're gonna get him really mad one time and get him in a lot of trouble."  
  
"So?" She said with a shrug.  
  
After that, they played video games for a few hours more (Ryoko winning everytime), then decided to go to bed.  
  
Trunks yawned and stretched, "man, no wonder why you get bad grades in school, you must play games constantly."  
  
"It's not that!" Ryoko cried. "I just... don't study... sleep in class... I get C's and B's! So... that's average and above average. ...leave me alone!" Trunks continued to laugh and shake his head, and she hit his arm playfully. He said he could hardly feel that, so she continued to hit him harder, and he just continued to laugh harder.  
  
Ryoko slept in one of the many guests rooms, and Trunks went in the room that he had stayed in before.  
  
She slept peacefully for a few hours, but then awoke with a start after another realistic dream. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, then started to lay back down. She heard a crash from outside, and looked out her window.  
  
Trunks and Vegeta were out there, fighting many of those things that attacked her and Trunks a week ago. They seemed to be winning, but everytime they killed one, many more came.  
  
She just stood at the window for a few moments, not sure what to do. Then she ran out of the room and down a few flights of stairs and out the door. When she got out there, she wondered why she went, there was nothing she could do but help.  
  
One of the things turned around, a grinned. Terror struck through Ryoko, she hadn't been able to see it very good a week ago, but she could see them clearly now. It had black skin with many lumps and such all over it, yellow eyes, and yellow tinted teeth. It was short and tiny, but still terrifying. It screeched, and a few more turned and looked at her, also grinning. One pointed at her, and she stood transfixed.  
  
"Ryoko! Get in the house!" Trunks cried, cutting a few in half with its sword. She blinked, and her mind started working again and she ran for the door and closed it. They ran to the door and pounded on it, trying to open it. She locked it, then ran to the phone.  
  
"Oh God... who can I call?!" She asked herself. "Oh! I know!" She dialed the numbers.  
  
"...Hello?"  
  
"GOHAN!" Ryoko cried.  
  
"Ryoko? What's up? It's two in the morning!" He asked with a yawn.  
  
"These- these- these- things! Are attacking Capsule Corp. and Trunks and Vegeta are fighting them all alone!"  
  
"Things? What kind of things?"  
  
"I don't know! Just get your dad and get over here fast!"  
  
"Right." Gohan hung up the phone. Ryoko looked at the door as she heard a loud crack, then ran up a quite a few flights of stairs and hid in a random room. The door downstairs burst open, and she heard the things flooding in. She crawled to the window again, and saw that Trunks and Vegeta were turned into one of those Super Saiyans that Trunks was talking about, and from what she could see, they were starting to look pretty worn out.  
  
Her heard turned from the window when the doorknob was wiggling. 'They'll be able to break that down easily', she thought, taking one last glance at Trunks before she ran out of another door into the bathroom. They broke in, then she though it would be best to make a run down the hallway. She quickly counted to three, then threw the door open and ran.  
  
They quickly reached her and knocked her down, then she passed out.  
  
_New Home  
  
Ryoko awoke with a slight headache, and sat up. She was at her house, in her bed. There was light shining through the windows, and the clock said it was one o' clock.  
  
"...what happened?" Ryoko asked, rubbing her head. "Did I dream what happened last night?" She got out of bed, her eyes not working properly yet. Her mother was seated at the table, drinking coffee.  
  
"Morning." She said.  
  
"G'morning..." Ryoko replied groggily. She got some water, then turned around, rubbing her eyes. "I had the weirdest... hey! You're not my mom!" Ryoko cried, her eyes wide as she stared at Mrs. Son. She laughed.  
  
"Actually, I am. Goku! Come here, Ryoko's awake!"  
  
"What're you doing in my house?!" Ryoko cried, fully awake, now. Goku came down the stairs and grinned.  
  
"Morning, Ryoko!" He cried.  
  
"What's going on here?" She asked, looking from Chichi to Goku.  
  
"Let us explain, Ryoko. Sit." Chichi nodded to the chair across from her, and Ryoko slowly sat down, Goku leaned against the wall. "Like I said, I am your mother... and obviously Goku is your father. You are Gohan's twin. When you two were born, Goku promised that Gohan would grow up to be a scholar, not a fighter. But I knew that no matter what, Gohan would be thrown into Goku's crazy adventures." Chichi eyed Goku, and he grinned with a small laugh and put his hand behind his head. "And I was right... Anyway, I wanted at least one of our children to have a normal life, so we gave you to the Augiri family. We decided that when you turned sixteen we'd take you back... Your birthday is next month, but we decided to just take you, now. I heard that Trunks already explained all that othe stuff to you, so I'm happy that I don't have to." Ryoko blinked a few times, thinking about what she was just told.  
  
"...out of all the families out there, you had to give me to the Augiri's?" She asked, her stomach dropping.  
  
"...yes? Why?" Chichi asked, her head to the side.  
  
"They must have been the worst parents out there..." Ryoko said, then explained to her new parents what she had told Trunks, but without the tears. Chichi and Goku exchanged glances.  
  
"We didn't know." Goku said quietly, laying a hand on her shoulder. "But that's all over, now." He grinned. "You're going to have a great life with the Son's!"  
  
After that, Chichi and Goku argued a bit about whether Ryoko would also be a fighter or not. Ryoko said that she wanted to learn how to fight, so Goku won that argument.  
  
"Ryoko, Ryoko, Ryoko!" Goten cried, running to her and wrapping her arms around her waste and hugging her tightly.  
  
"Ow, Goten! That's a bit too tight!" She cried, and he released her and looked up at her, his eyes sparkling.  
  
"Wow! I can't believe it! I have a big sister!" He cried happily. Ryoko laughed and patted his head lightly, then Gohan came with a large smile on his face.  
  
"Hey, Ryo-chan!" He cried.  
  
"Hey." Ryoko said. She wasn't too sure what to think; she was shocked, yet extremely excited.  
  
"Ryoko, we're going to go over to Master Roshi's house, so go get ready, you're gonna be meating everybody!" Goku said. Ryoko nodded, and then got ready. It took her about forty five minutes, then they headed over to the island. Goku had to carry Chichi, and Gohan had to carry Ryoko as they flew.  
  
They landed on the island and were greeted by a grinning Roshi, who grabbed Ryokos hand as soon as she was set down.  
  
"Ah! You must be Gokus daughter!" He cried, looking up at her. His sun glasses slipped down, and a bright blush covered his face. He laughed to himself as he looked her up and down, still holding her hand as her blush got brighter and brighter. Chichi slapped him in the back of his head and he let go of Ryokos hand and fell face first into the sand.  
  
"That's Roshi." Chichi said, angrily, as the Son boys laughed. "He's a perverted old man! Try your best to stay away from him as much as you can, Ryoko." Chichi put her head up and stepped over a dazed Roshi and went into the house. Ryoko glanced at her laughing brothers and father, then at Roshi, then followed her mother into the house.  
  
Through the day, Ryoko met many new people who all seemed delighted to meet her. She stayed with Trunks and Gohan for most of the day, but did talk to some of the other people.  
  
Over the next few days, Ryoko went out training with her brothers and father. She learned how to fly, and became a bit stronger and faster than she used to be. Goku had been keeping them out of school for those few days, and wanted to keep them out longer, but Chichi made them go back, much to Ryokos dismay.  
  
"WHAT?!" Mai cried, the day that the Sons went back to school, after Ryoko told her that she was a Son. "You live with GOHAN?! That's not fair!! I wanna live with Gohan!" She rambled on and on, and Ryoko laughed.  
  
"Wanna come over after school?"  
  
"Yes! Is Gohan gonna be home?"  
  
"I think so... Unless he goes out with Daddy somewhere."  
  
"Ooh... I wanna see his room!"  
  
"Their rooms aren't too personalized, yet, they just moved in." They talked some more during classes and in between, Mai kept saying how cute Gohan was and how excited she was to go to their house. She talked all day, but by the time they got on the bus, she seemed to quiet down.  
  
When they got to the house, the three teens sat in the living room and watched tv. Mai basically chose what they watched, Gohan didn't care for tv all that much, and Ryoko liked pretty much the same things as Mai.  
  
Mostly for the whole day they just watched tv, and before Mai's mom picked her up, she ranted on how cute Gohan was and how much she 'loved' him. Ryoko rolled her eyes as she left, then went back in the living room with Gohan, who hadn't the slightest clue of Mai's crush on him.  
  
"You're so naive." Ryoko told him with a laugh. He looked at her, a blank expression on his face  
  
"Huh?"  
  
A/N_well... How was that? Short, yes, but... ::shrugs:: I should have more up soon... eview please! 


	3. three

All I Want is You.  
  
"Stop yelling at me!" Ryoko cried, sitting up in her bed. It was a Saturday morning, and she was awoken to the sound of her cell phone ringing. When she had picked up, it was Kotori, and he imediately started yelling at her. "Now, what's up? And be calm this time."  
  
"What's going on with you and Trunks?" Ryoko blinked a few times, trying to think of what to say.  
  
"What do you mean? We're friends."  
  
"Oh really? Seems like you've been getting closer and closer." Ryoko got up and rubbed her eyes, stretched, then walked into the kitchen to get a drink while continuing to argue with Kotori.  
  
"So what? We're only friends."  
  
"Yeah but you always used to talk to me about stuff! Now it's always him!"  
  
"What do you mean?!"  
  
"Do you like him, now?!"  
  
"No, I don't! And what does that matter to you?! It's not like you ever cared about me as more than friend, so what would it matter if I liked someone else?!"  
  
"...He's... he's taking my place! He's replacing me!"  
  
"He's not replacing you! No one could ever replace you, Kotori! I've known you for almost five years, now! There's never been anyone but you! Sure, I've had crushes on other people, but after they ended, I always went back to you! Why can't you see that?! Why can't you just accept the fact that I love you and stop making things complicated?! You know, you're such a difficult person to love. You really are. You can be such an amazing person, then turn around and be so selfish and not understand anything at all!" After that, it was silent. All Ryoko heard was Kotori breathing heavily, then she said quietly, "you know what, Kotori, I'm through with you. For once in these past five years, I'm giving up on you. I'm done. I'm tired of waiting for you. Maybe we'll still be friends, maybe not.  
  
And with that, Ryoko ended the call and put the phone on the counter. She put her hands on the sink and sighed, closing her eyes. She was the one breathing heavily, now. She closed her eyes, and she knew that she still had some feelings for Kotori, but not nearly as much as she had before. She listened for the sound of her phone ringing again; she said she didn't want to talk to Kotori again, but of course she wanted to. She was hoping that he would call and apologize...   
  
But the call didn't come.   
  
She turned around, then blinked a few times when she saw Gohan and Trunks sitting at the table with wide eyes, some of their homework on the table in front of them.  
  
"Oh... hey guys."  
  
"Hey Ryo..." Gohan said, smiling a bit. "Today's Mai's birthday party, right?" Ryoko's eye size doubled.  
  
"Oh, yeah! I totally forgot! I need to go get her a present!"  
  
"So do I." Gohan said with a nod. "Let's just get her one together."  
  
"I'll take you to the mall to get one." Trunks offered, then smirked. "And... can we sign my name to it, too? I kinda forgot to get a gift, also."  
  
"Yeah! That's great!" Ryoko ran back into her room then took a shower and got ready to go. Then they went to the mall and after shopping a bit, they ended up buying her a few fragrences, lotions, and body washes. They just drove around for a while, then ended up leaving for Mai's house when the party started, Ryoko saying that they couldn't be right on time. Trunks and Gohan didn't see why they should be late, but didn't feel like arguing.  
  
There were a lot of people there that Gohan and Trunks knew, and there were quite a few that Ryoko didn't know. Kotori wasn't there, Ryoko noticed. Most people stayed in groups, one of them being just Gohan, Trunks, and Ryoko. Mai went to each group and talked a bit, never staying with just one group.  
  
"This is so boring!" Ryoko whispered to Gohan as she took a seat next to him. He and Trunks smiled and nodded slightly. "We should go somewhere else."  
  
"We can't do that, Ryoko." Gohan started, "Mai is your best friend, and one of our good friends. We can't ditch her birthday party, it's not nice. Think of how mad she would be at you." Ryoko sighed and nodded, looking discontent.  
  
"I'm gonna go out into the back yard to get a drink, I'll be right back." She got up and went into the backyard, and after giving a nervous glance to a winking and smiling Gohan, Trunks followed her.  
  
"Ryoko!" Trunks cried, walking up to her. She turned her gaze from the cup that she had just grabbed to Trunks, and smiled sweetly. "I... uh... You... Er." He blushed lightly and Ryoko giggled a little, looking slightly confused. Trunks took in a deep sigh, then placed his hand on Ryokos cheek and kissed her.  
  
After a few awkward moments, Trunks pulled away, and Ryoko looked at him with wide eyes, both of them blushing, now. If Ryoko had been turned around, she would have seen what Trunks saw: Kotori cassually walking into the backyard, scoping the crowd. His eyes landed on them right when Trunks kissed her, and Kotori looked shocked and angered when he turned around and ran.  
  
Ryoko's Heart  
  
Now it was Ryoko's time to stutter; "I... I... Trunks..." Trunks bit his lip, smiled, then turned his back and when he was away from eye sight of the people, he flew away.  
  
Ryoko didn't move for a few minutes. She didn't know what to think, how she felt. She was shocked... Yet pleased. Did Trunks like her? It kind of seemed like he did, and there were a few rumors that he did.  
  
The more important question was... did she like him? She was sure for the first time in years that she was over Kotori, and she thought she might have a slight crush on Trunks. After all, he was an amazing guy.  
  
The rest of the party went by quite slowly. Ryoko talked to her friends, didn't really see Gohan, she wondered if he had gone after Trunks. When she got home, Gohan was sitting on the couch watching tv. Chichi was cleaning, Goku was sleeping, and Goten was with Chibi Trunks next door. Ryoko sat on the couch next to Gohan. He turned off the tv, and they sat in silence for a few moments.  
  
"Where were you?" Ryoko asked quietly.  
  
"I went to talk to Trunks."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
Another awkward silence...  
  
"You know, Ryoko," he started, turning to her, "you need to talk to him. He feels like an idiot right now, since you didn't go after him. He thinks you hate him, that that kiss disgusted you."  
  
"No! No, that's not it at all! It's just... I..."  
  
"You what?"  
  
"I don't know how I feel about him... I think he likes me, but I'm not sure. I want a little time to think about it..."  
  
"I'm going to bed." Gohan said, standing and going to his room. Ryoko sighed, and soon went to bed herself.  
  
During the night, she had another dream. No, these were more like nightmares. In this one, she had been sitting in the corner of her parents room, Goku kneeling next to her. She had been staring at him, her mouth slightly open, watching him cut various parts of her body with a dagger. She didn't even scream, or try and stop him, she just watched, a few tears running down her cheeks. It ended with Goku laughing maniacly.  
  
She awoke to her father standing over her with a goofy grin, and she jumped up with a yelp, hitting her head on his head, forgetting that the dream had been a mere dream. He seemed a little concered at first, and she told him she had just awoken from a nightmare, and he didn't ask questions. He told her to get dressed, cause him, her, and her brothers were going training for the day. She looked at the clock, and realizing how early it was, she moaned and complained a bit, but Goku just laughed and left the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
It took her quite a few minutes, but she ended up getting dressed and heading out with her brothers and father. Goku carried her while he and the two boys flew to the mountains near the old Son house. She was taught how to fly, and by the end of the day, she had mastered chi blasts. She was exhausted by then, so Goku had to carry her home, too.  
  
When she woke in the morning, she realized it was a school day, and quickly got out of bed and got ready. She and her brothers made it just on time for the bus stop.  
  
Trunks wasn't at the bus stop.  
  
He ended up coming in late, during second period, History. He took his usual seat, and was unussually quiet at the end of the class. Ryoko avoided eye contact with him, and she kept getting glances from Gohan.  
  
Lunch came soon, and Trunks sat at the end of Ryokos table, eating in silence. Kotori, who had been eating lunch at another table, came over and sat across from Ryoko.  
  
"Ryoko," he began, "I'm sorry." She didn't reply. "...I'm sorry, Ryoko. I have no reason to be jealous all the time... I'm sorry for being such a jerk."  
  
She just looked at him, sighed in disgust, then got up and left the cafeteria. That's how she felt about him, now. Disgusted. When she thought of him, or saw him, her stomach turned. She felt like she needed to throw up to dispose of all of her horrid feelings. She guessed that these were normal feelings when you were letting go of someone, finally accepting the fact that it was not meant to be.  
  
As she was walking away, someone grabbed her wrist. Assuming it was Kotori, she spun around and glared right into the boys eyes. But it wasn't Kotori, it was Trunks, looking back at her with his deep, thoughtfull blue eyes. Her expression softened, and she smiled.  
  
"Trunks... I've been meaning to talk to you. I..." She couldn't think of what to say.  
  
"I've been meaning to talk to you, too.. I wanted to tell you that... I like you. I like you a lot, Ryoko Son..."  
  
She smiled, dropping her eyes to his hand that still held her wrist. She grabbed both of his hands, "look, Trunks," she started, looking back into his eyes, "I don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now. I'm just letting go of Kotori, and I think I need some time. You're definitely one of my best friends, and I care about you so much. I don't ever want to hurt you like Kotori hurt me, so I don't want to jump into a relationship... I think I do like you a little, too, but it's not enough to form a relationship right now... I think maybe things could work out in the future, but definitely not right now, I'm just not ready." Now Trunks looked away, but also smiled, then looked back at her eyes.  
  
"Okay." They hugged, then Ryoko walked away, Trunks staring after her.  
  
Blood of the Innocent.  
  
A week after, Trunks and Ryoko had been spending a lot more time together. They sparred together a few times, went shopping, and sometimes just sat random places and talked for hours. A month later, the last day of school had came and went, and Trunks and Ryoko were closer than ever. They weren't a couple yet, but they did things like holding hands and such frequently.  
  
In mid July, the whole gang was at Roshi's to celebrate Ryoko and Gohan's birthday. They got mostly fighting equiptment from everyone, but Bulma and Bra bought Ryoko a very pretty charm bracelet, and Trunks got her a ring with her birth stone(ruby), and a few diamonds in it.  
  
They day was coming to an end, and Ryoko, Videl, and Mai(Mai and Ryoko were starting to get much closer to Videl, although it was very obvious that Mai was jealous of Videl and Gohans relationship) had fairly bad sunburns from being in the water mostly all day. Everyone was gathered in the TV room, now, watching the news. A reporter came on, saying that a city had been attacked by an unknown person or persons, which caught everyones attention.  
  
"I'm here in Barleytown, and you would not believe what has just happened merely a few hours ago here. Everyone who lived in tiny Barleytown has been slaughtered, women, children and all. There were about two thousand people living here, and all of them have come to a grotesque end. People are starting to call this the Barleytown Massacre Who has done this is still unknown, more news at eleven."  
  
"Think we should check it out?" Gohan asked, turning to his father. Goku blinked a few times, then nodded.  
  
"Yes, but not we." He stood. "I'll go. You all stay here. I mean it, no one follow me." And with that, he trasnported to Barleytown.  
  
"Why doesn't he want anyone to follow him?" Gohan now turned to his mother.  
  
"I don't know, but he'd better be back soon!" She replied, crossing her arms with a pout.  
  
Later that night, Ryoko woke around three in the morning. Videl and Mai had slept over, so she was careful not to wake them up as she left the room. Her father had come home a few hours ago, and Chichi was yelling at him, demanding to know why only he could go and what happened. Goku wouldn't tell her anything, saying he was hungry and tried. Chichi gave in and made him a sandwhich, stubbornly said that that was all he got since he ran out on Ryoko and Gohans party, then they went to bed.  
  
She crept out of the house, then flew off toward Barleytown. She wanted to know why her father didn't want anyone else going. Her curiosity always seemed to get the best of her.  
  
"Curiosity killed the cat..." She mumbled to herself. "Yeah, but satisfaction brought him back," with that, she sped up.  
  
When she got to Barleytown, a terrible stench struck her nose. She covered her nose with her hand and winced, looking around. She guessed that the smell was coming from all the bodies that seemed to be beginning to rot. She wondered why they had not been cleaned up yet.  
  
She walked through the town, starting to think it was a bad idea to come. She had never seen a dead body before, and these definitely weren't good bodies to see for the first time, each one made her feel like she needed to vomit. Each body was drenched in its own(and possibly others) blood, and was terribly mangled or dissfigured. Even the small children were murdered.  
  
After only a few minutes, Ryoko had tears in her eyes and felt as if she needed to leave right away. The scene was horrible. The last thing she saw before she turned around was a mother clutching to an infant.  
  
She jumped into the air, ready to fly as fast as she could, but a figure appeared in front of her, also standing in mid-air. If she hadn't been so perturbed, she would have screamed, but she felt as if her throat was closed, and her shreak was stuck in her chest. She instantly though of this man as the murderer as he smirked.  
  
"Hello, Ryoko." He said. Strangely, the voice sounded so familiar. She couldn't make out his face, but by his outline, she could see that he was very tall and buff, was wearing a cape, and had... horns?  
  
Another familiar voice shouted, "Ryoko!" She knew the voice. It was her father. But her eyes were locked with the mans eyes, which were slowly starting to show. They were yellow, with slits for pupils, like cat eyes. His eyes seemed to let out a blinding light. All she could see was white, then black.  
  
Authors Note: Yes yes... I know it was short... But I felt like updating. I hope you like it so far, please review! :) 


	4. four

**Authors Note**: I know I haven't written in forever.. but I just started watching Dragon Ball Z again and I felt like writing. Soo I'm gonna try and keep writing, cuz I really do like this story.

Waking up

When Ryoko opened her eyes, she was still in darkness. She was a bit groggy at first, wondering where she was, completely forgetting what had happened before. She closed her eyes, rubbed them, and then all of a sudden, the yellow eyes flashed into her mind and she sat up with a shriek, breathing heavily. She stood up, remembering everything that had happened, wondering if it were a dream.

She looked around for a few moments, then she turned around a saw a light, realizing she was in a cave. She walked to the end of it, the light blinding her eyes.

"How long have I been here?" She said to herself, staring in the woods that surrounded her.

"A few days."

She jumped, not recognizing the voice. Her father was suddenly standing next to her, with a grim expression on his face.

"Where... What happened?" She asked, turning away because the look on Goku's face made her stomach turn.

It was silent for a few minutes, making her stomach turn even more. She could feel that Goku was incredibly angry, which scared her a little. She had never seen him angry, or even in a bad mood.

"I told you not to go to Barleytown, not to follow me," he finally said. "Why would you go there when I specifically told you not to?"

Then Ryoko was silent for a few minutes. The truth was, she wasn't too sure why she had gone.

"I… I don't know, I felt like I had to go, like I was being drawn there," she realized, looking at him. His expression changed to astonishment, and he looked back at her, making her look at her feet. "Why didn't you want me to go? Who was that… thing? What was it? How did he know my name?"

"Listen to me from now on, Ryoko. Or one of these times I may not be around to save you from Deborah." And with that, he jumped into the air and sped away.

Ryoko stared after him for a little while, questions running through her mind. She was still a bit scared from seeing her father so angry, but she was now sort of angry that he would just leave her without answering any of her questions.

Then she started flying in the direction where Goku had gone, since she had no idea where she was, or how to get home.

She must have been flying over woods for at least a half an hour before she made it to the city, and from there it took about fifteen minutes to find Capsule Corp., then her house. She landed on the front step and left her hand on the door-handle for a few moments, realizing that Chichi was probably going to be infuriated.

She took a deep breath, then opened the door and walked in, immediately hearing a shout and feeling Goten's arms wrap around her legs.

"Ryoko, Ryoko, Ryoko! You're finally home!" He cried, laughing.

"Ryoko?" Gohans walked into the room, then his face lit up. "Ryoko!" He also ran to her and wrapped his arms around her. "You're home!" He stepped back, looking her up and down. "Are you okay? Where's dad?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… I don't know where dad is. I woke up and we talked for a minute, then he just… left." Then Chichi came in, started crying, then yelled at her. Ryoko explained what happened. As soon as she finished, Goku came in.

"Goku!" Chichi screamed. "Why didn't you come home? What happened?" Goku just looked at them all, then went into his room and closed the door. Chichi followed him, banging on the door, still screaming at him.

"Ryoko, you should go see Trunks. He's been really worried about you." Ryoko looked at Chichi and nodded, feeling her heart swell.

She walked to Trunks' house, and nervously tapped on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened. A groggy Trunks was standing before her, rubbing his eyes and yawning; it looked as if he had been asleep. When he opened his eyes and saw her, he was suddenly wide awake.

"Ryoko!" He cried, lurching forward and hugging her. He leaned back and stared into her eyes, a bright smile on his face. "Where have you been? What happened?" She explained what she could remember. "It seems like Goku knows more than he's letting on."

"I'm almost positive that he does. But I don't understand why he wouldn't tell me, it's not fair."

"If Goku isn't telling you, then he must have a reason." Ryoko nodded. "You wanna go get something to eat"

Demons of the North

Punches were being thrown at Ryoko almost too fast for her to see, and she barely missed them, never mind landing a punch on Trunks. She let out a yell, then flew to the ground and sat down, panting.

"Well, Ryoko, keep this up and you might be as strong as Goten." Trunks said with a smirk, landing next to her and looking down at her. They had decided that sparring often would be a good idea to get Ryoko's power up so she could defend herself if she ran into Deborah again.

"Great, I'll be as strong as my younger brother. Really something to strive for." Trunks just laughed and sat down next to her, grabbing her hand. Ryoko looked up into his eyes, squeezing his hand, and slowly brought her face closer to his.

"…Ryoko?" Trunks whispered, then she placed her lips on his.

After a few moments, they parted, both blushing madly.

Since then they were inseparable, and were finally an official couple. They sparred often, and after a few weeks, Ryoko was proud to announce that she was stronger than her eight year old brother.

School had started, and to Gokus disappointment, Chichi did not allow any of the Son children to spar with him during the week, and only allowed Ryoko to see Trunks during the week while they 'studied'. Usually during this 'study' time, they would go off and spar, or just spend time together. This caused Ryoko to be up extremely late at night, while she actually did her homework and studied. All of this only lasted for the first week or so, eventually Chichi had given up due to the whining of her children and husband.

"There's nothing on!" Mai said angrily as Ryoko flipped through the channels. They were sitting in Mai's living room, and it was that time during the summer where you were starting to get ridiculously bored and restless, but still didn't want to go back to school.

"Let's see what's on the news."

"Oh cause that's really interesting." Mai muttered sarcastically, but quickly after gasped and exclaimed "holy crap!"

The camera was on the ground, obviously dropped by the camera man. The view wasn't too clear, and the tape kept cutting out, but it was obvious that a battle, or rather a massacre, was occurring. People were screaming, there was a visible bloody, unmoving body a few feet away from the camera.

Ryoko stared in disbelief, then jumped up.

"I'm gonna go."

"Are you crazy?!" Mai cried in disbelief, also standing. "Goku would kill you!"

"I'm sick of him treating me like I was a little kid! I've been training with Trunks, I think I can handle this." She took a few steps forward, then stopped and looked back at Mai with a slight look of uncertainty on her face. "Well… I'm gonna go and give it a shot. Call Trunks in ten minutes and tell him to meet me there. If I can handle it, then everyone will know that I don't need to be taken care of. If I can't, well then Trunks will be there to help me. What could happen in ten minutes?" With that, she ran out the door and hopped into the air.

The city she was going to wasn't hard to find, she had learned to be able to sense chi, and as she got closer the chi grew stronger and she became more worried that she had made another mistake.

As she walked through the city, it seemed deserted. There were bodies everywhere, she figured she would be seeing a lot of them since she was now a Z Fighter, so she tried not to look away as the sick feeling in her stomach grew stronger with every step that she took.

She heard whimpering noises coming from behind an ally, and slowly walked toward it. A little girl, ten at the most, was huddled in the corner. Ryoko kneeled down and put her hand on the girls shoulder and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Hey," she said quietly, "what's your name? What're you doing here all by yourself?"

"Heroki…" she said with a sniffle. "I don't know where my mommy is. I'm scared there's monsters here I'm all alone." She started crying, and Ryoko lifted her into her arms.

"It's okay, don't cry, I'm here I'll take care of you." Heroki clung to her, her sobs turning into sighs and sniffles.

Ryoko walked through the city, calling out looking for any more survivors. She had Heroki hide her face in her shoulder so she wouldn't have to see the gruesome scene. She called out for her mother, but Ryoko knew she must have suffered the same fate as the many others strewn across the streets.

Heroki was suddenly thrown from Ryoko's arm when something attacked her from behind. Whatever was on her had sharp claws, and were digging into her back. She turned herself over and threw the attacked to the side and jumped up, then gasped in fright at what was again lunging at her.

The monster walked on all fours, and did indeed have claws; three long, sharp claws. It had grey skin, a long tail with a hook on the end, and sharp, bloody teeth. It had no eyes, the skin on its head was pulled back revealing its brain, held back by a chain then connected to a spike coming from its hunched back.

She barely had time to recollect herself and think of a plan of attack when it lunged back at her, knocking her over again. She screamed, her arms extending as she tried to push it off of her. Heroki screamed when the monster scratched her arm with its claw, it looked at her and then threw its tail at her, driving the hook into her stomach.

"Heroki!" Ryoko cried, throwing it off of her as soon as it took the hook out of her stomach. Heroki fell to the ground, Ryoko jumped into the air and started firing chi blasts at the monster. It screeched, then jumped up and bit her ankle and pulled her back down with it.

It threw her to the ground, then screeched again as Trunks drove a sword through its head.

He turned to her, looking completely outraged. "What the hell is the matter with you?! Why would you come here by yourself?!"

Ryoko looked up at him for a moment, then ran to Heroki and lifted her head.

"Heroki? Are you okay? Heroki?!" Ryoko started crying when Heroki didn't answer her, and she laid her down and turned to Trunks and cried in his arms. "I told her I'd take care of her."

"Ryoko…" Trunks started, unsure of what to say to comfort her. "We… we can't save everyone, Ryoko. We just have to try our best and do what we can, you can't blame yourself when things like this happens."

Ryoko stepped back and nodded, knowing he was right.

"There's more." She said, looking around. Trunks also looked around, and looked confused.

"How do you know? I don't see any, and I can't sense their chi."

"You can't?" She asked. "I could feel it for miles. Now that you mention it, their chi does feel different from anyone else's." She shrugged. "I just know. There's more, they're everywhere."

"We need to get home. You're too hurt to stay and fight."

"We can't just leave them here! They'll go hurt more people! I'm fine, I can fight."

"You couldn't even handle that one on your own."

"I can do it! I wasn't prepared."

"Neither of you could take care of them all on your own." Goku had arrived, and stepped down next to Ryoko. Along with him came Gohan, Vegeta, and Piccolo. Ryoko looked away from everyone, feeling ashamed and stupid that she thought she could handle this on her own.

"What are these things?" Trunks asked.

"Demons." Goku replied.

Ryoko shot a glance and her father, "how do you know-" She didn't get to finish her sentence before a few dozen more demons showed up, all hissing and growling.

"This is gonna be fun…" Gohan muttered.

**A/N: **comments please. I'll try and get more up soon.**  
**


	5. five

**--CHAPTER 12**

"Ow!" Ryoko cried as Chichi finished wrapping her bandages.

"See! This is why I didn't want you fighting! I tried to keep you away from all of this!"

"I'll go get you some sensu beans." Trunks said, kissing her forehead then leaving the room. The battle had taken most of the day, and Ryoko was only able to kill one demon on her own. She could tell her father was disappointed in her for going on her own and putting herself in danger, but she didn't feel guilty, she was more angry because she knew he knew something that he wouldn't tell.

"Are you okay?" Goku asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. Ryoko quickly pulled away and stood up, then started feeling guilty after she threw him a glare and he looked surprised and hurt.

She sighed, "yeah, dad, I'm fine. I just… need some rest. I'm gonna go to bed."

She hugged her parents, then went into her room and laid down.

Ryoko fell asleep almost instantly, and began to have another one of her nightmares. She was standing in a completely white room, shivering from the intense cold.

"I'm coming for you."

She spun around, and behind her a tall, dark haired man was standing there smiling. His hair was long and black, he had a very pale complexion. His eyes were striking, and to Ryoko they were beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He was wearing a long red trench coat, and black gloves.

"Who are you?" She asked, staring into his black eyes. He began to laugh maniacally, showing his razor-sharp teeth, making Ryoko step back in surprise. He walked toward her, Ryoko was unable to move.

"You're mine," he whispered in her ear, then quickly reached forward and his hand plunged through her chest, then he reached back with her heart in his hand as he began laughing again.

The last thing she saw was those eyes before she threw herself from her bed. An overwhelming feeling of nausea came over her and she ran to the bathroom and began vomiting, still hearing his laugh in her head. After, she sat back and wiped her mouth with her hand, the laughter finally fading, then moved her hand back to look at it; blood was smeared on it. When she saw that she had thrown up blood, she fell back against the wall, suddenly feeling very dizzy as she started crying.

"Ryoko, are you alright?" Gohan asked the next morning in homeroom. Ryoko shook her head, breaking herself from the daze she had been in. "You don't look so good."

"Yeah, just didn't sleep too well last night," she said with a sincere smile.

"Yeah, Trunks came back last night with the sensu beans, and mom went to go see if you were awake, and she said you were tossing and turning and didn't look like you were sleeping too good, but she decided not to wake you."

"Oh, I forgot Trunks was bringing me those. I would've waited up."

Gohan shrugged. "You needed to sleep. Besides, you didn't really need the sensu beans, he was just being too worried, as usual."

Ryoko smiled, then grabbed her head and bent over in pain from a horrible, sudden head ache.

"Ryoko?"

"I-I'm fine," she stuttered, "just feeling kinda sick. I'll be right back." She got up and went to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

After she finished throwing up more blood, she splashed some cold water on her face, then stared at herself in the mirror. "What the hell is wrong with me?" She asked herself, splashing more water on her face to keep herself from crying.

As a result of not sleeping well the night before, Ryoko unintentionally fell asleep during class. She dreamt that she was in Trunks' room kissing him. She pulled away and looked him in the eyes with a smile, then grabbed his sword from behind his back and drove it through his stomach, pinning him to the ground. "I do love those eyes," she whispered, then stuck her nails in them, causing him to scream out in pain as blood ran from his eyes.

She woke up screaming, everyone in the room staring at her.

"I know you always fall asleep in class, Ryoko, I don't mind because it doesn't affect anyone's but your own grades. But if you're going to cause a scene when you wake up then I won't allow it." Her teacher said, causing everyone in the room except Ryoko, Trunks, and Gohan to giggle.

"I'm sorry, sensei." Ryoko said, gathering her things. "I need to go."

Ryoko immediately recognized the room as the living room. Someone was sitting in a chair, their back to her and facing the wall. She recognized him as Trunks, and started walking over to him. He stood up, and revealed a horrifying sight.

The front of his muscle shirt was torn, and half of his face's skin was missing. He was coughing up blood, which was spilling down onto his chest. His chest's skin was bubbling and melting away, revealing his ribs and lungs. He coughed, his ribs rattling.

Ryoko stood, transfixed from fright, as Trunks came toward her with a clawed, bone hand. His claw grabbed her throat, and started tearing it, ripping away her skin, exposing her trachea and other internal throat organs.

She again awoke with a scream. She had gone home, no one was there and she had fallen asleep again while watching TV.

"Okay, well, then I just won't sleep." Ryoko decided, getting up and pouring herself a cup of coffee. The first few sips made her gag, she was never much of a coffee-drinker.

Two days passed, she hadn't slept at all and she had already been through at least a dozen coffees.

"You're gonna get cancer or something." Mai said, admiring a shirt then pushing it away when she saw the price.

"You don't get cancer from coffee." Ryoko said quickly.

"You can get cancer from anything these days. Come on, let's go to another store, this one's too expensive."

They walked back to the center of the mall, and Mai stopped to fix her make up in a mirror.

"Come on come on come on let's go go go I need to move!" Ryoko said, jumping up and down. "God this is REALLY annoying! Come on come on! I'm getting tired, oh no I can't get tired. I need more coffee!" She turned around and walked into someone, then jumped back. "Oh, I'm sorry I'm sorry! I'm sorry- Kotori?!" She hadn't seen him since the day he apologized in the cafeteria. He smiled, and looked away from her eyes.

"Ryoko, hi…"

"How- how've you been?"

"Alright, and you?"

"Kotori!" Mai cried, running over and hugging him. "I haven't seen you in so long! Where have you been?"

"Around…" He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Why haven't you been hanging out with us?" Mai asked angrily. Ryoko and Kotori both looked at the ground, both knowing the answer.

"So, uh, how're things?" Ryoko asked.

"Okay… Listen, um, Ryoko, I think we should talk." He said, finally looking up into her eyes, which caught her off guard making her look away quickly.

"Oh, alright, well-" A loud crash came from behind them, and screams were heard as people started running in the opposite direction, violently pushing Ryoko, Mai, and Kotori out of there way. "Oh shit." Ryoko muttered, hearing the screeches of the demons.

"What the FUCK are those?!" Kotori yelled, staring in horror as the demons tore apart the people who hadn't managed to get away quickly enough.

Ryoko threw her shopping bag at Mai, "you guys, get out of her, quick. Go call my dad, tell him that the demons are at the mall and I'm alone."

"Demons?! What the fuck?!" Kotori yelled before Mai dragged him away, frantically pressing numbers on her cell phone.

Ryoko watched them go, and kind of regretted telling them to leave so quickly, she was afraid to face them alone again.

"Everyone, get out of here, NOW!" She yelled to the remaining people, then ran to the demons and started firing chi blasts at them, hoping that she could hold them off long enough for her father to get there. But after a few minutes, she didn't think she had the strength to be constantly firing chi blasts, her energy was draining quickly. Her blasts became less and less powerful and slower and slower, until finally one was able to get around it and sliced her arm with its claws. She cried out in pain, then jumped into the air and resumed sending the chi blasts. She hadn't gone high enough to stay out of range of their tails, and one of them threw its tail into the air and hooked the blade into her ankle. Ryoko screamed as it slammed her on the ground, and tried as hard as she could to keep it from ripping her throat out when it jumped on her.

A chi blast from Goku arrived just in time, and he helped her up. With Ryoko in his arms, he sent a powerful Kamehameha at them, then left through the hole in the roof that they created.

"I didn't go after them this time, I swear they just showed up here." Ryoko said.

"I know." Goku said.

"Where are we going?"

"To Korin, to get some sensu beans for your ankle."

It wasn't long before they reached the long pole extending through the clouds. When they reached it, Goku started flying up, then they came to the large circular dome. He set her down and she leaned against the edge, then quickly sat on the floor after she looked down and felt a little nauseas.

"Hello, Goku!" Korin said with a smile. "Here for sensu beans? For whom, what happened this time?"

"My daughter, Ryoko." He said. The smile faded from Korin's face as he glanced toward her. "She was attacked by some demons."

"Ryoko…" He just kept staring at her, "she's so… young." He shook his head, turned around and got a bag on sensu beans, then handed them to Goku. "Here you go. You take good care of her, okay?"

"Yeah, of course." Goku said. He walked over and helped Ryoko up, gave her a few beans, and flew home in silence.

**--CHAPTER 13**

"Maybe you've just had too much coffee and not enough sleep." Gohan said the next morning during homeroom. Ryoko had just confessed her suspicions about their father in a matter of a few seconds, Gohan was surprised that he even understood her babbling.

"No, Gohan! I've been thinking this since way before I started drinking coffee."

"Yeah, you're right. He has been acting differently lately. I have no idea why, though. But I do still think you need to lay off the coffee and get some sleep."

"No, can't sleep. Won't sleep. Coffee's good." Gohan laughed and shook his head.

"Whatever, sis. You're gonna just pass out at a really bad time one of these days."

"No, I'll be fine if I just keep drinking coffee." Ryoko got up and walked away, not wanting to argue with him because she knew he was right, but she didn't want to think about sleeping. She ran into Trunks, who asked her to go over after school to study, and she agreed. She realized that her attention span was very short, and her grades were going to drop drastically.

As soon as she got to Trunks', he started on her about sleeping just as Gohan did.

"You don't look good, Ryoko. You need sleep."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I… have nightmares. Bad ones." She admitted.

"Well… it's probably because you're not used to this… kind of life. Fighting, seeing dead bodies. That whole experience with Heroki. Of course all those things would give you nightmares. But that's all they are, nightmares. They can't hurt you."

"You wouldn't want to sleep if you've seen what I have."

Trunks sighed, knowing her mind was made up. "Alright. I'll go get you some coffee, wait here." Ryoko nodded and sat on the couch. Trunks went into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee, then discretely opened a sleeping pill and put the powder in and mixed it. He sat down with her and handed her the mug, she was asleep shortly after.

"Oh no, Trunks," she whispered, "what did you do to me?" She was in a dimly lit hallway, behind her, where she guessed the hallway went on, was pitch black. She cautiously started walking to a dank room in front of her, where she heard muffled sobs. On the other side of the door, there was a blue haired little girl, crying into her knees.

"…Heroki?" Ryoko asked, tears springing into her eyes.

"It's your fault." Heroki mumbled.

"…What? What's my fault?"

Heroki lowered her knees, still looking down at the floor.

"It's all your fault!" She lifted her face to Ryoko, who let out a shrill scream. There were deep, bloody sockets where her eyes should have been, dried blood covered her face.

Ryoko closed her eyes, "this isn't real, this isn't real, you can't hurt me!"

"You don't even know who I am." Ryoko opened her eyes and the man with the dark eyes wrapped his hand around her throat. Tears streamed down her face as she clawed at his hand, gasping for breath. Heroki was humming in the corner, staring at Ryoko with a satisfied grin. He pulled her closer, and whispered softly in her ear, "Ryuukaze."


	6. six

"Oh no, Trunks, what did you do to me…" Ryoko mumbled, squeezing her eyes tightly. Trunks felt his stomach drop, suddenly feeling guilty for tricking her into sleeping. 

He placed his hand on her cheek and whispered softly, "I'm sorry Ryoko, but you'll thank me after, you're exhausted."

"…Heroki?"

"I knew it, I knew that's the reason she was having nightmares." He pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and spread it over her, then grabbed the remote and started flicking through channels. Ryoko screamed, tears running down her face.

"This isn't real, this isn't real, you can't hurt me!" Her eyes suddenly opened and she grasped at her throat. Trunks jumped up, staring at Ryoko. She was suddenly lifted into the air, still grasping her throat, and thrown into the wall, breaking through it and falling into the front yard.

"Ryoko!" Trunks cried, running out after her. She sat up, coughing and crying, there was a bruise in the shape of a large hand around her throat. She grabbed her head, bending over in pain. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Goku!" She cried, jumping up and running into her house. She ran into the kitchen, were Goku was sitting, eating lunch with her brothers and mother. "What is going on?!" She screamed, her family giving her confused and terrified looks. "Who is Ryuukaze?!" Goku put his chop sticks down and stared into her eyes, a look of fear spreading across his face.

"I can't tell you, Ryoko. It's not the time."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?! He's going to kill me, and you can't even tell me who he is!" Goku kept looking at her, but wouldn't reply. She wiped the tears from her eyes, "fine. I'll find out myself."

"I'll help you." Gohan said, standing up and throwing his father a disgusted look.

"Me too." Trunks said, walking into the kitchen. Without waiting for a reply from her father, Ryoko stormed out of the house with her brother and boyfriend.

"We should go find Piccolo, maybe he'll know." Gohan suggested.

"Yeah I agree, he's probably with Dende." Trunks said.

"Then let's go."

Piccolo was there, meditating. He seemed annoyed when he first sensed them there, then became concerned when he saw the looks on their faces.

"What's going on?" He asked, standing. Dende and Mr. Popo ran out, also asking why they were there.

"Who is Ryuukaze?" Ryoko asked simply. Dende said he didn't know, but a look of panic quickly spread across Mr. Popos face.

"Kaze?" He asked, trembling. "How, how do you know about him?"

"I know nothing about him, all I know if that I've been having dreams of him trying to kill me."

"Kaze… yes, the name sounds familiar." Piccolo said, trying to remember who he was.

"Don't tell her." Goku suddenly appeared, a stern look on his face. Ryoko faced him, started screaming and swearing at him, then started to punch him. Goku looked surprised, her attacks were futile. "Ryoko, you know you can't hurt me." She stepped back, fury written all over her face, then looked shocked as she grabbed her head, screaming in pain and doubling over.

"What's happening to her?!" Trunks cried. A purple aura surrounded her, and Goku quickly hit the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious.


End file.
